Chapter 142: Campus Superhero Teen Film
"How's the casting for the film going?"
Jake put down the script and leaned back in his chair.
He was still processing what he'd just read. After finishing it, he was wondering if it was really wise to entrust such a significant responsibility to an inexperienced film school student.
It wasn't that Danny was incompetent—his screenwriting skills were actually very strong. If directing didn't work out, he could easily pursue screenwriting, or even become a novelist. He definitely had talent.
Danny possessed a quality common to his generation—a vivid imagination!
And his scripts weren't overly ambitious. The problem was he was too eager for quick success.
This eagerness wasn't unique to him. Jake felt it himself sometimes, and many young people were the same way. However, no producer wanted their director to have such an impatient mindset—it was detrimental to the creative process.
This was why Jake was reconsidering whether letting this young director helm the film was the right decision.
"It's almost complete," Danny nodded, a hint of pride on his face. "The filming location is right here on campus, and we've hired students as crew and extras. Each person gets a hundred bucks a day, plus meals. They're all theater or film majors, so their acting skills are definitely better than random extras."
"The male lead is a friend of mine from the acting program, and he's got the right look..."
Danny then carefully introduced the cast to Jake. The reason he was so focused on every detail was inseparable from the fact that Jake was financing the entire production.
The film was straightforward—a teen campus movie.
It centered on relationships between students—love triangles, complicated dynamics—and youth-themed films were always popular among young directors.
Since this was a film school production, there was no shortage of attractive people, so according to Danny, the male and female leads were definitely a good match.
He showed Jake some photos, and indeed, the guy was handsome and tall, and the girls were youthful and attractive. There was one actress in particular that Jake vaguely recognized.
"This one," Danny said with a smile, noticing Jake studying a particular photo, "is a friend of mine. She's in a pop group. I convinced her to play the female lead."
These days, pop groups were everywhere—not just internationally, but domestically too, springing up constantly.
Any group of performers could form a pop act, give themselves a catchy name, and call themselves artists. Posting on social media counted as "promoting" their work.
Jake vaguely recognized this pop group member—she looked like someone who'd performed as a backup dancer at some televised event.
"Well, since she's in a group and has some recognition, the price is a bit higher than the other actors," Danny admitted somewhat sheepishly.
Judging from his expression, he might even have a slight crush on this young performer.
Jake didn't care about such things. After all, the director was the creative force behind the film, and Jake didn't want to stifle his vision.
Afterward, the two signed a contract, and Jake transferred the initial funds to Danny.
After a substantial meal at the restaurant, the two parted ways.
The next day, Jake was invited to the university to watch the production kickoff.
As the film's investor, he felt obligated to attend.
The weather was exceptionally clear—a vast expanse of blue sky without a single cloud.
He wore a black button-down shirt, which drew some attention, but few students paid him much mind. Instead, their attention was focused on Danny in the distance, discussing the production.
Entering the campus wasn't his first time visiting a film school, but this experience felt completely different.
Standing among the crowd after watching the opening ceremony, Danny—due to a sudden burst of inspiration—actually wanted to reschedule the afternoon shoot and start ten minutes earlier!
This was truly an unconventional and stubborn director.
There weren't many directors this uncompromising. They either burned out quickly or became industry legends. What kind of director Danny would become remained to be seen.
If these were professional actors, such arbitrary schedule changes would likely result in them walking off set.
Fortunately, everyone here was a student without major egos. The only girl with any recognition was barely known outside campus, so she couldn't afford to be difficult. Everyone's attitude remained positive.
Because of his sudden change of plans, the leads had to rush through makeup.
Watching the busy film crew, Jake took a sip of water, found a folding chair, sat down, crossed his legs, and contemplated the plot Danny had written.
The story was straightforward: an ordinary college freshman was suddenly struck by a mysterious object and awakened superpowers.
Sometimes the power manifested as enhanced strength, sometimes as teleportation—the exact nature would depend on how the condition developed.
With these unpredictable abilities, this underdog gradually transformed his life, winning over romantic interests, playing the hero, and ultimately achieving success.
The male lead was clean-cut but maybe a bit too polished—it was unclear whether he'd applied something to his face or if it was naturally that smooth.
The female lead was played by Kelly Chen, a member of a small pop group.
The two quickly began rehearsing their scene. Perhaps because Jake was on set, Danny's direction seemed somewhat demanding and perfectionist.
Watching a film production was a first for Jake, and he found it quite fascinating to observe from the sidelines.
However, his presence also attracted considerable attention.
Some crew members whispered, "Who is that guy? So entitled! He just sits down like he owns the place!"
"Is that chair even his? Someone should say something!"
"Kelly doesn't even have a seat!"
A murmured commotion arose, supposedly whispered but actually quite audible.
This was because Jake had told Danny he just wanted to observe and didn't want to interrupt everyone's work, so nobody knew he was the actual financier. They assumed he was just some random person who'd grabbed a chair.
Just as a heavyset student—wanting to impress the actress—started walking over to confront Jake, the observant Danny called out.
"Where's the professor?"
"Where did the professor who's supposed to counsel Kelly's character in this scene go?"
After waiting two minutes, someone finally answered, "Professor Harris said filming started this afternoon, so she went home..."
Went home...
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Danny's eyes darted around, and he looked at Jake, who was sitting casually with crossed legs. He walked over with a knowing smile.
Many people watching this scene were secretly amused, thinking, "Finally, he's getting called out. Some nobody sitting right in the middle of our shoot, acting like he owns the place. Does he think he can push us around just because we're students?"
Danny stopped in front of Jake.
The heavyset student wisely backed off, giving Jake a smug look.
Then Danny spoke, and what he said shocked everyone present.
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